<strong>Back in the Vandran Residence...</strong>


    Aries slipped her fingers in between Abel''s slender fingers and rested them on top of his firm abdomen. They had a passionate morning and were now resting on the bed with half of her body on his side. Her head was on his bare chest, listening to his unnatural faint heartbeats.


    "What are you thinking?" she broke their silence and looked up at him. The back of his head was on the headboard, but his body was still lying t on the mattress with her. "You suddenly turned silent."


    "That child..." her brows rose at his reply uttered in a rasped voice.


    "Sunny?" she mused and smiled at the thought of that adorable little girl. "Right... where did you leave her? She seems to like you since she keeps holding you."


    Abel fluttered his eyshes ever so tenderly. "I left her in Conan''s care."


    "Ohh..." Her lips formed an o-shape as she rocked her head. "They will get along well."


    "I don''t know about that, darling." Abel arched a brow and nced at her while casually ying with her fingers. "That little girl... is the cause of why Conan had to work with a mountain of paperwork."


    "Huh?"


    "You already know the spell Isaiah cast in the imperial pce. There are two main reasons for that. The first reason is to keep the empire running, and the second is for Conan to avoid such a workload. But s, although the empire was alright, the paperwork in Conan''s office was as tall as him."


    "What...?" Aries chuckled awkwardly, imagining the dread stered on Conan''s face at the sight of his office.


    "He will initially think it was that glutton''s fault, just like everyone else. Well, she wasn''t really innocent since she nned to rename the empire, hence, the added work for Conan," Abel exined nonchntly.


    "Sunny will be fine, right? Sir Conan isn''t that coldhearted to punish a child."


    Abel cast her azy look. "Mhm."


    "What do you mean, ''mhm?'' Sir Conan won''t hurt her, right?"


    "Conan had a soft spot for children." He peeled his eyes away from her to look at the high ceiling. "The worst thing he would do to her is to nag her. But the child is smart, so she would eventually coax him if she used the right words."


    Aries heaved a sigh of relief before sheughed briefly. She had known Conan, and the man was the first person she had grown close with. Therefore, she understood that aside from Conan''s nagging; he was actually a nice guy.


    She nced at Abel''s side profile, and her brows rose. "Then why do you still look so worried?" she asked, noticing the inexplicable emotion in his eyes.


    "Because of that child." his answer was the same, but his tone grew even more solemn.


    "What about Sunny?" she asked with intrigue. "You said his parents would surelye to get her."


    "Mhm. They would... if they want her back." Abel slowly set his eyes back to her and kept quiet before his lips parted. "Darling, Rikhill is a ce for trades. Therefore, you knew about the existing kingdoms and empires."


    "That''s right. Since our economy heavily relies on trades, we have to study even other ces''nguages and learn their history and traditions." She nodded. "Why did you suddenly bring it up?"


    "So you knew about the Great Heart''s Empire?"


    Aries furrowed her brows slightly, looking at Abel as if she was trying to see if he purposely mistook something. Her lips curled up as she chuckled dryly.


    "What do you mean the Heart''s Empire?" she assisted herself up, resting her arm on his chest to face him. "That ce isn''t an empire, but an isted kingdom that stood strong all on its own. Abel, you had cked so much that you don''t remember the kingdoms and empires? No wonder Sir Conan had always been yapping at you."


    Abel stared at her and reached for her face, tucking her hair gently. Again, he kept silent, making her brows elevate at the odd air around him.


    "What?" she urged in puzzlement. "Why are you looking at me like that?"


    "Darling, do you know why Haimirich is called an advanced and a progressive empire?" he inquired, watching her tilt her head to the side. "Because I''m here."


    Sheughed. "I know my husband is amazing." Her grin slightly faded when he shook his head.


    "Not that way. Haimirich is considered advanced because it doesn''t stop nor does it turn back in time," he exined, tossing her into a river of question marks. Abel let out a deep breath, kernelizing the proper words in his head to exin it in a more short but clearer exnation.


    "Since you already knew about the existence of our kind and witches, you know vampires had their abilities. I know one person, darling. One person who can bring your family back to life."


    "What?" her eyes popped open as her heart suddenly thudded while watching him nod.


    "It''s hard, but not impossible." Abel cupped her cheek, caressing it with his thumb. "Will you hate me if I told you could''ve returned to your life where yournd still hadn''t met such a disaster, and your family is still alive if you hadn''t met me?"


    Aries''s eyes shook, and her lips opened and closed, but her tongue kept rolling back. All she could do was stare at him in shock, trying to process what wasing out of his mouth right now.


    "If I didn''t show up in that world summit -- in that garden -- you''d meet another man who could..." he trailed off as he recalled this particr emperor he met in the gatherings of the sovereign where he met Aries. "A man who could possibly stop the tragedy in Rikhill."


    Abel let out another deep breath, staring at her in the eye. "Back in the world summit, the Heart''s Kingdom is no longer a kingdom but an Empire. But since you had forgotten, it only proved my theory."


    "What... what theory?" came out a quiet and shaking voice.


    "The world... once again returned in time," Abel answered. "And only Haimirich, the Maganti Empire, and Rikhill were left untouched because... I was involved in them."